Wheel



Jan. 31,1928. 1,657,743

' G. CHRISTIA ET AL,

WHEEL FiledJan. 10, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. a1, 1928. 1,657,743

G. CHRISTIA ET AL WHEEL Filed Jam-l0. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

' Jaiififl; T928.

G. CHRISTIA ET AL wanan Filed Jan. 10. 1927 3 sheets-sheet s A TTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,743

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GECTRGE CHRISTIA AND PETER CHRISTIA, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN. V

WHEEL I Application filed January 10, 1927. Serial No."160,073.

This invention relates to an improved veplace to a degree of deformation suilicient hicle wheel, aud has for its object an imto hold each ball against falling out, though proved organization of parts by means of free to move rotatively therewithin. If clewhich all of the advantages as regards resired, a felt washer, as D may be placed 5 siliency and ease of riding qualities can be outside the line of bearing balls, to exclude had in'a wheel equipped with a pneumatic dirt and dampness. tire without the attendant possibility of The ball race thus constituted, engages puncture due to the cutting impingement of against theadjacent face G of the main sharp stones, nails and similar articles often wheel web F, which may, if desired, be to occurring upon a road surface against the stamped to form from sheet metal, and which wall of the pneumatic tire when that forms is either integral with, 01' attached to, by the outer periphery of the wheel. Our inbolts or otherwise, the peripheralclincher ventiou also provides for securing the conrim E, between whose inturned edges is held tinned alignment of the wheel against vertithe tread or tire member H. This is prefer- 66 cal wobbling and other relative movement of ably made of rubber or similar resilient mathe parts in the event of the rather rare octerial, but being solid rather than pneumatic, currence of the pneumatic tire that is used cuts and similarlacerating impact of sharp bursting, and consequently ceasing to afford stones, nails or similar articles can have only the relative support to the parts employed. a gradually wearing effect upon its life. 70 20 In the drawings: The web F, it will benoted, is bent slightly Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one to one side of the central plane of the wheel f f th heel. as a whole, terminating in the inn'er edge FigureQ is a similar elevational view of portion G against which the bearing balls N the opposite face of the wheel as assembled. engage on one side. Against the correspondp Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view of mg opposite face of this web part engage a the wheel taken along the line 3-3 of Figsimilar ring of bearing balls M which are ure 1, andlooking in the direction of the arsimilarly carried near the peripheral edge of rows there h m one face of. the web K of the inner rim piece Figure l is a detailed elevational view of K. As long as the plates or webs carrying so so one of the central plates employed, this being these two series of bearing balls are held shown in edge sectional elevation on the left with adequate firmness against either face hand side of Figure 3. of the inner web portion G, their overlap- Figure 5 is a similar view of the opposite ping thereof makes a structurally continuous platewhich is arranged in spacedly parallel web structure, though formed of a plurality s5 relation to the plate shown in Figure 4. and of pieces, between the hub A and the periphwith it forming the central web of the wheel. eral tread member H; This positioning is In the preferred embodiment of our ineffected by securing to that face of the web vention herein illustrated the vehicle wheel F just inside its rim portion, of a tire seathub is indicated at A. Fixed to it by means web 0, secured thereto by bolts I, which, 40 of bolts C is the brake band B. These bolts bending in the other direction from the inas well pass through a plate D, thus structuclination of the web F already described, corally uniting it with the brake band, in conoperates with it in forming an enclosing tact and parallel relation with the web B of tread seat L for the pneumatic tube J, which the latter. That face of the plate D which is is mounted upon the inner rim piece K, with 5 H,5 not thus positioned against the brake band its filling tube Q' passing through an aperweb B is provided near its periphery with ture therein and closed b the cap It, as in a circle of bearing balls, as N, held in place an ordinary pneumatic tire. When the. tube in any desired manner, as for example by the J is suitably inflated, it fills the space bering P, or by providing ball-holding apertween the seat L and the inner rim K suiiiso tures in the plate D and tooling the metal ciently to not only hold the parts in desired surrounding each aperture after its ball is in assembled relat on but as well to form a wheel structure which functions to absorb, between its periphery and its supporting hub, a large proportion of the road jolts due to the outer tire member striking road irregularities and the like; the interior positioning of the pneumatic tube J relatively to the road-engaging periphery of the wheel adequately protects it, however, from receiving the cutting im act of nails, sharp stones and the like, as he wheel travels over a road.

To effect the structural correlation ofthe hub A with the web of the wheel as thus built up, so that the hub and its connected parts ofthe .wheel will not merely creep relatively to the outer or web portion of thewheel, we provide an ear T on the plate D to which is connected one end of a link S, the other end thereof being pivotally connected with the stud V on the web extension G". Thisvleaves the plate D and its brake band, ,as wellas the web of the inner rim piece K, free to move away from the true center of the wheel as a whole in connection with the functioning of its supported tube J in absorbing road jolts, while at the same time mechanically connecting the various parts forefi'ecting the rotation of the wheel as a, whole. Greater oscillatory movement of the'hub supported parts relatively to the web and peripheral portion of the wheel may, if desired, be secured by cutting away a portion of the plate D, as at Dso ,that a greater eccentric movement thereof relatively to the stud'V on the web extension G may take place before these two parts positivelystrike one another.

It has been our experience that while it is of course desirable, for securing the maximum beneficial cushioning effect from the wheel structure as, thus built up, that the pneumatic tube J be kept suitably inflated, the parts are heldagamst wobbliug, even if the tube bursts or isinsufiiciently inflated, by the overlapping presence of the two ballproteeted plate surfaces D and K on either side of the web extension G.

" What we claim is: i

1. In a wheel, the combination with a pcripheral tread member and a web and rim member whereon said tread member is mounted, of a pneumatic tire member peripherally engaging a portion of said web member remote from said peripheral tread member, a rim member whereon said pneumatic tire member is mounted, said last named rim member having a central web portion extending parallel with the plane of the wheel as a whole and marginally overlapping the inner, portion of said first named web and rim member, a brake band web member positioned in spaced parallel relation to the web of said pneumatic tire rim member, a hub member fixed to said last named web member in perpendicular relation to the plane thereof and of the wheel as a whole, and means operatively connecting said brake band web member with the peripheral web and rim member, whereby their limited relative movement is permitted.

In a wheel, in combination with a pcripherally external tire member and a smaller 'diamctered"pneumatic tire member, a correlating rim and web member whereby said tire members are held in spaced relation within the plane of the wheel as a whole, a rim member for said pneumatic tire member provided with a centrally apertured web portion whose outer marginal portion overlaps the adjacent inner portion ofsaid first named rim and web member, a brake band web member positioned in SDflCQd parallel relation to said last named w b member and similarly adapted to engage the opposite face of the inner marginal portion of said first named web and rim member, ball hearing elements adapted to diminish the degree of frictional action between said marginally overlapping parts, a wheel hub fixed tosaid brake band web member in perpendicular relation to the plane thereof, and, a link operatively correlating said brake band web member and said first namedrimand web' member, whereby their limited relative movement according to encountered working conditions is permitted.

3. A wheel, having coaxially disposed tread and pneumatic tube elements, a web member peripherally of which said tread element is supported and interiorly of which said pneumatic tube element is positioned, a webbed rim member whereon said pneumatic tube element is mounted, said webbed rim member marginally overengaging the inner portion of said first named web memher, a brake band plate member positioned in spaced parallel relation to the webbed portion of said rim member and similarly overeugaging the inner edge of said first named web member on the opposite side thereof from that engaged by the webbed portion of said rim member, a wheel hub fixed to said brake band plate member in axially perpendicular relation to the plane thereof, and means for operatively correlating said brake band plate and said first named web member while permitting limited relative movement thereof.

4. In a wheel, in combination with a centrally apertured rim and web portion, and

a tread member peripherally positioned thereupon, a pneumatic tire member peripherally engaging withinithe correspondingly contoured interior portion of said rim and web portion, an inner web and rim element whereon said pneumatic tire member is mounted, said inner web and rim element spacedly overlapping the interior edge portion of said first-named rim and web pertion, a brake band plate coaxially positioned on said inner rim and Web element, a wheel hub operatively connected with said brake band plate in perpendicular. relation to the 5 plane thereof and to the general plane of the wheel as a Whole, and connecting means between said brake band plate and said firstnamed rim and Web portion whereby limited relative movement of said parts is made possible.

In testimony whereof We sign this specification.

GEORGE CHRISTIA. PETER GHRISTIA. 

